Markets are still flinching before the Eye of Sauron hovering over Mordor- on-the-Potomac, waiting to see what the Fed orcs will growl on Wednesday. (I hate to use the same image two days running, but it was simply too apt to pass up.)

Gold didn't do anything today on Comex that it hadn't already done yesterday in the aftermarket. Dropped $14.00 (1.13%) on Comex, playing catch up. Silver tumbled 26.3¢ (1.63%) to 1525.5¢

Hard to judge in the Shadow of Sauron whether gold & silver are strongly resisting lower prices, or fear of the Fed is keeping everyone out of the market. Either way, the FOMC's announcement Wednesday will take the lid off.

Closes today drew both silver & gold below their 20 day moving averages, first tripwire of a decline. Gold already broke down out of that bear flag yesterday.

Stocks edged down. Dow lost 15.65 (0.09%) to 17,213.48. S&P500 fell more, 9.04 or 0.45% to $2,010.60. They act like they have run out of moxie, but don't yet discount them. No telling what surprise parties the Fed might throw tomorrow. Despicable, that a nation of 350 million, some of them smart, energetic, & entrepreneurial, are held hostage to a bunch of atherosclerotic academics not competent to sell newspapers on the street.

US dollar index tried to rise today, but closed unchanged at 96.67 -- a rare occurrence. Euro is flinching, too, up 0.06% to $1.1109. BoJ's equivalent of an FOMC announcement was made today and they did nothing. Meanwhile weak US retail sales stung stock buyers, oil stumbled, and equity markets around the world sank underwater. Yen gained 0.55% to 88.37, mostly spurred by folks fleeing dollar uncertainty.

Do NOT use these commentaries to trade futures contracts. I don't intend them for that or write them with that short term trading outlook. I write them for long-term investors in physical metals. Take them as entertainment, but not as a timing service for futures.

NOR do I recommend investing in gold or silver Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs). Those are NOT physical metal and I fear one day one or another may go up in smoke. Unless you can breathe smoke, stay away. Call me paranoid, but the surviving rabbit is wary of traps.

NOR do I recommend trading futures options or other leveraged paper gold and silver products. These are not for the inexperienced.

NOR do I recommend buying gold and silver on margin or with debt.

What DO I recommend? Physical gold and silver coins and bars in your own hands.